JPH0127940B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sorter, and more particularly to a sorter suitable for adjusting the conveyance speed during copy delivery in accordance with the conveyance speed on the copying machine side.

Generally, a sorter sequentially inserts copy sheets ejected from a copier into multiple bins, so the time between receiving each copy sheet from the copier is used to transfer the next copy sheet to the next bin. It is necessary to keep the insertion mechanism on standby so that the device can be inserted into the device. Since it takes time for this insertion mechanism to prepare for standby, it is necessary to make the copy sheet conveyance speed on the sorter side higher than that on the copying machine side.However, in conventional sorters, the copy sheet conveyance speed was fixed. Due to the difference in conveyance speed between the sorter and the copying machine, copy sheets were pulled against each other, causing slips between the conveyance rollers, causing noise and causing problems such as copy sheets being rubbed.

In order to eliminate such problems, some measures have been taken, such as increasing the copy sheet transfer distance between the sorter and the copying machine and placing rollers with weak conveying force between them.
There was a problem with the sorter itself becoming larger.

In addition, conventional sorters have the problem that the copy sheet conveyance speed inside the sorter is fixed, and the copier is fixed, so if the sheet conveyance speed of the copier differs depending on the model, it cannot be easily accommodated. .

The present invention provides a compact structure that allows smooth transfer of copy sheets from the copier to the sorter without causing any tension between the copy sheets even if the copy sheet transfer distance between the sorter and the copier is shortened. It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly versatile sorter that can be easily installed in copying machines having different conveyance speeds.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to the embodiments shown in the figures.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a mechanical part of a sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention, where 1 indicates a sorter;
2 is a copying machine.

This copying machine 2 discharges a copy sheet 4 fixed by a fixing roller 3 from a paper discharge roller 5, and
The paper discharge state at this time is monitored by a paper discharge sensor 6, and this is a very common copying machine.

On the other hand, the sorter 1 attached to the copying machine 2 is equipped with a plurality of bins 7 and emergent trays 8, and is configured to input copy sheets 4 discharged from the copying machine 2 into these bins 7 or trays 8. It is configured. That is, 9 is a guide plate, and the copy sheet 4 discharged from the copying machine 2 is
The guide plate 9 guides the paper to the conveying section. The conveying section includes a conveying belt 10, a conveying roller 11 that drives the conveying belt 10, and the like, and the conveying roller 11 is configured to be driven by a pulse motor 13 via a transmission mechanism 12. A first deflection cam 14 is arranged near the conveyance roller 11, and in an emergency, the copy sheet 4 is discharged onto the tray 8 by this deflection cam 14. Further, although only one deflection cam 16 is shown in the figure, a second deflection cam 16 operated by a solenoid 15 is arranged in the copy discharge path on the conveyor belt 10, corresponding to each bin 7. The sheets 4 are discharged into the bin 7 by these deflection cams 16.

Furthermore, an entrance sensor 17 is installed on the guide plate 9 to monitor the state of the copy sheets 4 entering the sorter 1. Further, a common bin sensor 18 is provided at the entrance of each bin 7 to monitor the state of the copy sheets 4 entering the bins 7. Furthermore, the roller of the conveyor belt 10 is provided with a pulse generator 19 that generates a pulse P for each unit distance in synchronization with the movement of the conveyor belt 10.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the control section of the sorter 1, in which 20 is an I/O expander that serves as an interface with the control section of the copying machine 2;
2 is a control circuit composed of a microcomputer, and 22 is an I/O expander that serves as an interface with the mechanical section of the sorter 1.

The control circuit 21 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and the ROM contains programs necessary to control the sorter 1, as shown in FIG.
The number of pulses P ₀ required to convey the copy sheet 4 from the entrance sensor 17 to the deflection cam of the uppermost bin 7-1, the number of pulses P ₁ from each deflection cam to the bin sensor 18, and the number of pulses between each deflection cam P ₂ , the number of pulses from the paper ejection sensor 6 to the entrance sensor 17
P ₃ and the number of pulses P ₄ from the inlet sensor 17 to the deflection cam of the lowest bin are stored.

During operation, the control circuit 21 receives a sort mode signal a, a collate mode signal b, an interrupt mode signal c, a copy end signal d, and a copy eject signal from the control unit of the copying machine 2 via the I/O expander 20. A paper signal e, etc. is input. On the other hand, the control circuit 21
from the copying machine 2 via the I/O expander 20.
A jam signal f, a bin number signal g, etc. are output to the control circuit 21, and each drive signal is output to the pulse motor 13, each solenoid 15, etc. via the I/O expander 22 to the control circuit 21. At the same time, sensor signals are input from the entrance sensor 17, bin sensor 18, pulse generator 19, etc.
The pulse generator 19 can also be omitted by making the pulse frequency applied to the pulse motor 13 equal to the pulse frequency generated from the pulse generator 19 and managing the pulses with the control circuit 21.

Next, the operation of the sorter 1 of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 8.

The power of the sorter 1 is automatically turned on by turning on the power of the copying machine 2, and the control circuit 21
starts its control based on a command from the copying machine 2.

That is, the control circuit 21 first resets internal counters, registers, and flags to their initial states, and also sets n=1 in a register A (not shown). Next, the signals a~ input from the copying machine 2
Based on step c, the mode is selected as shown in FIG. 4, and when the mode is sort mode or collate mode, the process moves to the sort routine shown in FIG. 5, and processes corresponding to each mode are executed. Further, in the interrupt mode, the routine shifts to the interrupt routine shown in FIG. On the other hand, if none of the above is true, the seventh
Shifts to the normal routine shown in the figure. Further, FIG. 8 shows a processing routine when a jam occurs.

Now, it is assumed that the sort mode signal a or the collate mode signal b is input to the control circuit 21 via the I/O expander 20. As shown in FIG.
nth bin 7 containing copy sheet 4 from 7
-Calculate the number of pulses N for the n deflection cams.
As _explained above in FIG. Since the number of pulses required up to 18 is _P1 , and the number of pulses between each deflection cam is _P1 , it can be expressed as N= _P0 + _P1- (n-1) _P2 . In this case, in both sort mode and collate mode, copies will be stored starting from the topmost bin 7-1, so at first n=1 is set in register A in the procedure shown in Figure 4. Based on this, the number of pulses at this time is N=P ₀ +P ₁ .

Next, the copy sheet 4 ejected from the copying machine 2
When the tip of the inlet sensor 17 passes through the inlet sensor 17 and the inlet sensor 17 turns on, the control circuit 2
1 outputs a drive pulse through the I/O expander 22 and drives the pulse motor 13 at a speed equal to the conveyance speed of the copying machine 2 . At the same time, a counter A with a program configuration is activated to count the number of pulses P. Furthermore, deflection cam 1 corresponding to the bin in which paper is input
Turn on solenoid 15 for 6.

As a result, when the leading edge of the copy sheet 4 reaches the entrance sensor 17, the pulse motor 13 rotates and the conveyor belt 10 starts moving at the same speed as the copy conveyance speed of the copying machine 2.

In this embodiment, in order to make the sorter 1 compact, the conveyance path from the paper output port of the copying machine 2 to the bin 7 is made extremely short. sheet 4
Before the rear end of the bottle comes out of the copying machine 2, its leading end reaches the bin entrance. Therefore, in this embodiment, before the paper ejection sensor 6 is turned off, that is,
Before the paper discharge signal inputted to the control circuit 21 via the I/O expander 20 turns ON, it is determined whether the counter A has reached the calculated number of pulses N or not.

Based on this judgment result, if the counter A reaches the specified number of pulses N, it naturally means that the leading edge of the copy sheet 4 has reached the bin sensor 18, so it is determined whether the bin sensor 18 is turned on in step ST1. I checked and if it wasn't turned on, I assumed it jammed during the process. If the bin sensor 18 is ON, then check to see if the paper ejection sensor 6 is OFF.

On the other hand, if the copy sheet 4 is to be placed in the upper bin, the determination result in step ST1 is NO, and it is first checked to see if the paper discharge sensor 6 is OFF. At this time, if the paper discharge sensor 6 is off, the pulse frequency applied to the pulse motor 13 is increased to increase the speed of the conveyor belt 10 by four to five times.
At the same time, counter B is activated to count the pulses P. Counter B counts the number of pulses _P2 until the trailing edge of the copy sheet 4 reaches from the paper ejection sensor 6 to the entrance sensor 17, and the result is judged in step ST2. If NO, the process returns to step ST1. Repeat the above process.

If the judgment result in step ST2 is YES,
Next, moving to FIG. 5b, the state of the entrance sensor 17 is checked, and if the entrance sensor 17 is not OFF, it is determined that a jam has occurred. On the other hand, if the entrance sensor 17 is turned off, then the counter C is activated to count the pulses P from the pulse generator 19.

Thereafter, it is determined again whether the counter A has reached the specified number of pulses N, and if it has reached the specified pulse number N, the state of the bin sensor 18 is checked. Thereby, it is determined whether or not the leading edge of the copy sheet 4 has reached the bin entrance, and if it has not, it is determined that it is jammed. Next, it is determined whether the counter C has reached the specified number of pulses N, and if it has reached the specified pulse number N, the bin sensor 18 is checked to determine whether the rear end of the copy sheet 4 or the bin entrance has been reached. judge,
If it has not reached the limit, the bin sensor 18 will not turn off and therefore it will be determined that there is a jam. Thereby, a jam is detected from when the copy sheet 4 reaches the bin entrance until it enters the bin.

If the copy sheet 4 enters the currently selected bin 7 without jamming on the way, the current bin number n is output to the copying machine 2, and then the fifth
Moving to Figure c, the solenoid 15 is turned off and the pulse frequency is returned to the initial low frequency.
At this time, the I/O expander 20 is
It is checked whether the copy end signal d is input to the control circuit 21 via In the sort mode, the content n of register A is incremented by one, while in the collate mode, the process remains the same and returns to the procedure in Figure 4, then returns to the procedure in Figure 5, and repeats this. Execute repeatedly. On the other hand, if the determination result at step SST3 is YES, the motor 13 is turned off. Thereafter, the content n of register A is set to 1 if the mode is sort, and the content n of register A is incremented by 1 if the mode is collate, and the process returns to the procedure shown in FIG.

In this way, in the sort mode, one copy sheet 4 is sequentially stored one by one from the top of the bin, and is controlled to be returned to the top bin 7-1 by the copy end signal d. do.

In addition, in the collate mode, the copy sheets 4 are sequentially stored from the top of the bin until the copy end signal d is input, and when the copy end signal d is input, the copy sheet 4 is moved to the next bin. Control so that it returns to the upper stage.

On the other hand, jam detection during this period is performed by counter A,
B and C are provided to measure the state of the copy sheet from the entrance sensor 17 to the bin sensor 18, from the bin sensor 18 to the time when it is stored in the bin 7, and from the paper discharge sensor 6 to the entrance sensor 17, respectively. This is done by monitoring, so
If copy sheet 4 jams in sorter 1,
The control circuit 21 can quickly detect this.

As a result, if the control circuit 21 detects a jam, it moves to the procedure shown in FIG.
Output to. Thereafter, by removing the jam and pressing a reset button (not shown), the process returns to the procedure shown in FIG. 4 again.

Next, when the interrupt mode signal c is input from the copying machine 2 to the control circuit 21 via the I/O expander 20, the procedure shown in FIG. 6 is executed.
That is, in the interrupt mode, the copy sheet 4 ejected from the copying machine 2 is placed in the bottom bin 7-n.
Since the number of pulses N=
Take out P ₁ + P ₄ from ROM and set it in RAM. Next, when the leading edge of the copy sheet 4 passes the entrance sensor 17, the entrance sensor 17
When turned on, the pulse motor 13 is driven, and the solenoid corresponding to the lowermost bin 7-n is turned on, and then the counter A is operated.

Next, by checking the ON state of the bin sensor 18 when the counter A reaches N, it is determined whether the leading edge of the copy sheet 4 has safely reached the bin sensor 18 from the entrance sensor 17, and a jam is detected during that time. I do.

After that, the paper ejection sensor 6 is turned OFF, that is, the paper ejection signal e input via the I/O expander 20 is turned off.
ON is checked, and if the copy sheet 4 passes through the copying machine 2, the pulse frequency is increased, the speed of the conveyor belt 10 is increased, and then the counter B is activated.

Next, by checking whether the entrance sensor 17 is turned off when the value of the counter B reaches _P3 , a jam in which the rear end of the copy sheet 4 reaches the entrance sensor 17 from the discharge sensor 6 is detected.

If a jam is not detected, the trailing edge of the copy sheet 4 is transferred from the entrance sensor 17 to the bin sensor 18 by activating the counter C and checking whether the bin sensor 18 is OFF when the value of the counter C reaches N. It is checked whether or not the copy sheet 4 has reached the bottom bin 7-n, and a jam is detected until the copy sheet 4 reaches the bottom bin 7-n from the bin sensor 18.

In this way, in the process of putting the copy sheet 4 discharged from the copying machine 2 into the lowermost bin 7-n,
If a jam is detected, the jam processing shown in FIG. 8 is performed as described above. On the other hand, if jam is not detected,
Returning to the procedure shown in Figure 4 again, interrupt mode signal c
As long as is input, the process moves from the procedure in FIG. 4 to the procedure in FIG. 6, performs the same process as described above, and stores the copy sheets 4 discharged from the copying machine 2 one after another in the bottom bin 7-n. go.

On the other hand, if there is no mode designation from the copying machine 2 to the sorter 1, the normal mode is set, and the control circuit 21 executes the procedure shown in FIG. In this case, all the copy sheets 4 discharged from the copying machine 2 are placed in the topmost bin 7-1, so the CPU takes out the number of pulses N=P ₀ +P ₁ from the ROM and sets it in the RAM. In addition, the selection operation of the solenoid 15 is not performed, and the inlet sensor 17 is
If it is turned on, the pulse motor 13 is turned on and the counter A is operated, and then it is checked whether the sheet discharge sensor 6 is turned off, that is, whether the sheet discharge signal e input via the I/O expander 20 is turned on. As a result, the paper ejection signal e becomes
When turned ON, the pulse frequency is increased to increase the speed of the conveyor belt 10, and then the counter B is activated.

Next, in the same manner as in the interrupt mode described above, jam detection is performed by checking whether the entrance sensor 17 is OFF when the value of the counter B reaches _P3 .

If a jam is not detected, a jam from the entrance sensor 17 to the bin sensor 18 is detected by activating the counter C and checking whether the bin sensor 18 is ON when the value of the counter A reaches N. Next, by checking whether the bin sensor 18 is turned off when the value of the counter C reaches N, jam detection is performed until the copy sheet 4 enters the top bin 7-1 from the bin sensor 18.

Furthermore, if a jam is detected during such jam detection, the jam processing shown in FIG. 8 is performed, and if no jam is detected, the steps from FIG.
The process shown in the figure is repeated until all copy sheets 4 discharged from the copying machine 2 are stored in the uppermost bin 7-1.

As described above, the sorter 1 of this embodiment is provided with the entrance sensor 17 and the bin sensor 18 for detecting the presence or absence of the copy sheet 4 in the copy conveyance path.
Pulse generator 1 that generates a copy transport synchronization pulse
9 is provided, and this pulse is applied at the timing when the leading edge or the trailing edge of the copy sheet 4 passes the entrance sensor 17.
The bin sensor starts counting at the timing when the bin sensor 17 is ejected, and when the counted value reaches the predetermined number of pulses between the entrance sensor 17 and the bin sensor 18 or the number of pulses between the copying machine 2 and the entrance sensor 17. Jam detection is performed without using a timer by checking the ON/OFF state of the sensor 18 or the ON/OFF state of the entrance sensor 17.

Therefore, jams can be detected reliably and quickly without being affected by the conveyance speed of the attached copying machine as in the past. At the same time, by simply adjusting the transport speed when receiving copies to that of the copying machine, it can be easily installed on different types of copying machines.

In addition, as explained in FIG. 3, only the number of pulses P ₀ to _{P 4} during the basic distance during the copy transport path is memorized, and the number of pulses from the entrance sensor 17 to the predetermined bin entrance is calculated. This allows the storage capacity to be reduced.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the conveyor belt 10 is driven by the pulse motor 13, even if the copy machine conveyance speed differs due to a different model of the copy machine 2 to which the sorter 1 is attached, the pulse motor 13 By simply adjusting the frequency of the pulse applied to the
The sorter 1 can be easily attached to various copying machines. To adjust the pulse frequency in this case, the control circuit 21 is provided with a terminal for selecting the pulse frequency to be output to the pulse motor 13 in accordance with various copying machine transport speeds during copy delivery.
When attaching the sorter 1 to the copying machine 2, it can be easily done by specifying its terminal. Alternatively, the conveyance speed can be input from the copying machine 2 side to the control circuit 21 of the sorter 1 using a BCD code, and pulses of the corresponding frequency can be sent to the control circuit 21.
1 to the pulse motor 13. Furthermore, the pulse frequency can be adjusted as desired, such as by extracting a pulse signal per unit distance from the conveyance roller or the like of the copying machine 2, calculating the frequency from this, and applying the pulse of that frequency to the pulse motor 13. can.

Further, in this embodiment, the conveyor belt 10 is driven by the pulse motor 13, but the same effect can be obtained by using a servo motor provided with a feedback circuit.

Furthermore, instead of changing the pulse frequency, the pulse width may be changed to change the speed of the pulse motor.

As described above, according to the present invention, a pulse motor is used as the drive source of the copy sheet conveyance system in the sorter, and the pulse frequency applied to the pulse motor is switched when the copy sheet has completed moving into the sorter. Since the copy sheet conveyance speed on the side is switched from the sheet conveyance speed of the copying machine to a sheet conveyance speed faster than that of the copying machine, even if the copy sheet transfer distance between the sorter and the copier is shortened, the copy sheet cannot be transferred between the sorter side and the copy sheet conveyance speed. It can be transferred from the copying machine side to the sorter side without being pulled together between the conveyance rollers on the copying machine side.

As a result, a compact and highly versatile sorter can be obtained that can be easily attached to different types of copying machines without requiring complicated adjustments.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the mechanical part of a sorter showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the control part of the sorter, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the copy transport path necessary for explaining the operation of the sorter. Required pulse number explanatory diagram, 4th
The figure is a flowchart for explaining the mode selection operation of the sorter, Figures 5 a to c are flowcharts for explaining the sort mode and collate mode operation of the sorter, and Figure 6 is the interrupt mode of the sorter 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the sorter in normal mode, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the sorter during jam processing. be. 1... Sorter, 2... Copying machine, 3... Fixing roller, 4... Copy sheet, 5... Paper ejection roller,
6... Paper discharge sensor, 7... Bin, 8... Emergence tray, 9... Guide plate, 10... Conveyance belt, 11... Drive roller, 12... Transmission mechanism, 13... Pulse motor, 14, 16...Deflection cam, 15...Solenoid, 17...Inlet sensor, 18...Bin sensor, 19...Pulse generator, 20, 22...I/O expander, 21...
...control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a sorter having a plurality of bins arranged in parallel and sequentially storing copy sheets ejected from a copying machine into the bins, a pulse motor that drives a copy sheet conveyance system and a pulse motor that drives a copy sheet conveyance system; a pulse output means for outputting a pulse with an adjustable frequency; a sensor disposed near the entrance of the copy sheet conveyance system; The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for switching the speed of the copy sheet conveyance system between a first speed approximately equal to the processing speed of the copying machine and a second speed larger than the processing speed by switching the pulse frequency applied to the motor. Sorter. 2. In claim 1, the first speed and the second speed can be changed by changing the frequency of pulses to the pulse motor, and the invention can be installed in copying machines with different processing speeds. A sorter characterized by the fact that it did. 3. In claim 1, by detecting the copy sheet conveying speed on the copying machine side and adjusting the pulse frequency according to this detected value, the first speed is approximately equal to the processing speed of the copying machine. A sorter characterized by obtaining.